Cycling is a beneficial and rewarding experience for many. Bicycles provide recreation, exercise, and a means for transportation, among other uses.
Conventional seats that are presently used on most bicycles are of a one-piece design, and include a wider portion on which to sit, and a narrow "horn" portion. The horn is situated towards the front of the seat and allows a rider's leg to move down past the seat to make pedaling more comfortable.
One problem with conventional bicycle seats is that they do not provide adequate comfort for the rider. The conventional seat supports the operator's weight inefficiently, and permits a great deal of friction between the seat and the rider's legs. This causes discomfort to the rider and limits the amount of time that a bike can be ridden to the amount of time that the rider can endure the discomfort. There are those who find it uncomfortable to sit on a cycle seat for any period of time, especially elderly people, larger people, and those who suffer from medical conditions such as hemorrhoids.
Conventional seats are designed to allow the legs to slide down past and alongside the seat. This requires that the horn of the seat be small to allow passage of the legs. However, the seat also must support the person riding the bike, and therefore the support portion of the seat is larger than the horn and must be located such that the rider's buttocks and upper thighs rest thereon. Larger seats have been designed to offer more support to the rider, but they also restrict the movement of the rider, causing a greater amount of friction and therefore discomfort.
Attempts at solving the above-mentioned problems with conventional bicycle seats have been made. Seats having two halves, or split seats, have been made in a variety of designs including some that are adjustable in width, some with or without horns, and some that allow each half to go up or down as the rider's legs go up and down. Further, seats have been designed that mechanically cause one half of the split seat to rise while the other half is forced down by the rider's pedaling motion, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,668 to Ruow. Other designers have taken great care to design seat halves that will more evenly support a rider's weight, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,925 to Barker et al.
Seats have also been designed with horns specifically modified to reduce friction between the user's leg and the horn of the seat, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,608 to Erani.
While all of these seats improve, to some extent, the comfort afforded the user, no seat has been designed that satisfactorily meets all of the needs of the user related to bicycle seat comfort. Conventional seats are totally unacceptable to some and are reluctantly accepted by others. Split seats without horns are a definite improvement, but none have been designed that fully satisfy the needs of a bicyclist for a comfortable and effective seat.